“They know about the rescue work. They won't ask questions.” That was true enough. Reese, Malik, and Colton knew exactly what they were walking into. They'd helped with the raid on the fighting ring and had been there when Grayson pulled those dogs out of hell. They understood what hyena shifters were capable of.
Ryan went quiet again. Grayson could hear his breathing, slightly too fast, slightly too shallow. The fear was rolling off him in invisible currents, and Grayson’s lion responded to it with a protective fury that made his hands tighten on the steering wheel. He forced himself to relax his grip. Breaking the steering wheel wouldn’t help anyone.
“Can I ask you something?” Ryan’s voice was small in the darkness of the truck cab.
“Yeah.”
“How do you do this? The rescue work, the danger, all of it. How do you just... handle it like it’s normal?”
Grayson considered his answer carefully. The truth was that he’d been dealing with dangerous situations his entire life.
“You learn to compartmentalize,” he said instead. “Focus on what needs to be done instead of what could go wrong. Fear is useful when it keeps you alert, but it’s useless when it paralyzes you.”
“Right. Cool. I’ll just compartmentalize the death threats.” Ryan’s laugh sounded wrong, brittle. “Totally normal thing to compartmentalize.”
“You’re doing better than you think.” Grayson took another turn, watching the mirrors. Still nothing following them. “Most people would have fallen apart by now.”
“Give me time. I’m a slow-motion disaster.”
They drove through a neighborhood Grayson had chosen specifically for its isolation. Large lots, houses set back from the road, plenty of space between properties. The kind of place where neighbors minded their own business and strange sounds at night didn’t prompt calls to the police. His house sat at the end of a long driveway, a two-story structure that had seen better days but served their purposes perfectly.
Lights were on in the front windows. Reese's truck was parked near the garage, along with Malik's motorcycle and Colton's sedan. Everyone was here, waiting. Grayson pulled up beside Reese's truck and killed the engine.
“This is your place?” Ryan was staring at the house through the windshield. “It’s huge.”
“Like I said, roommates.” Grayson grabbed Ryan’s duffel from the back seat and came around to open his door. “Come on. Let’s get you inside.”
Ryan climbed out slowly, looking around at the property. The yard was mostly dirt and scrub grass, nothing decorative. Trees lined the edges of the lot, providing natural cover.
Perfect for what they needed.
The front door opened before they reached it. Reese stood in the doorway, his massive frame filling the space. He was six-five and built like he could uproot trees for fun, which wasn't far from the truth. His pale hair was pulled back from his face, and his ice-blue eyes assessed Ryan in one quick glance before moving to Grayson.
“This him?” Reese asked.
“Ryan, this is Reese.” Grayson kept his hand at Ryan’s back, guiding him forward. “Reese works with me on the rescue operations.”
“Hi.” Ryan’s voice came out small. He tilted his head back to look up at Reese. “Wow. You’re really tall. Like, really tall. Do you have to duck through doorways?”
“Sometimes.” Reese stepped back to let them in. The corner of his mouth twitched, almost a smile. “You can come in. We don't bite.”
Grayson shot him a look. Reese's expression remained carefully neutral, but Grayson caught the amusement in his eyes. Not helpful.
The interior of the house was sparse but functional. Furniture that served its purpose without being decorative. The living room opened to the left, where Malik sat on the couch with a laptop balanced on his knees. He looked up as they entered, dark eyes taking in Ryan with predatory focus before he schooled his expression into something more human.
Colton leaned against the kitchen doorway, arms crossed. He was the smallest of them at just over six feet, but he moved with a fluid power that made people instinctively step back. His dark skin and darker eyes gave nothing away as he studied Ryan.
“Guys, this is Ryan.” Grayson set the duffel down near the stairs. “Ryan, that’s Malik and Colton.”
“Hey.” Ryan lifted one hand in an awkward wave. “Sorry to crash your Saturday night. I promise I’m usually less of a disaster.”
“Don't worry about it.” Malik closed his laptop and set it aside. His voice was rough, like he didn’t use it often. “Grayson told us what happened. You’re safe here.”
Ryan looked around at the three men then back at Grayson. “So you all do the rescue work together?”
“Something like that.” Colton pushed off from the doorway. “You hungry? There's leftover pizza in the kitchen.”
“I could eat.” Ryan’s stomach chose that moment to growl loudly. He pressed a hand to it, his face flushing. “Apparently my body agrees.”
